Book excerpt: When it comes to food cities, Miami is one to take seriously. It is a colorful culinary tapestry of local and international food traditions with emerging new talents and James Beard-recognized chefs setting the bar for adventurous, experimental, and exciting cuisine. Miami Cooks by Sara Liss celebrates this wonderfully unique food culture with eighty recipes by forty of the city's leading chefs and mixologists. Sure, Miami is the Cuban food capital of America, but it also home to so many other cuisines--Peruvian, Venezuelan, Puerto Rican, Haitian, Jamaican--that tempt the palate. From savory duck carnitas tacos to a crab-crusted ribeye steak to a decadent caramelized strawberry (and not to mention, an array of refreshing cocktails), this book boasts recipes all designed for home cooks of all skill levels.